Integrate Table with Data Sources PDF

The following code snippet also work with Aspose.PDF.Drawing library.

Integrate Table with Database

Databases are built to store and manage data. It’s common practice for programmers to populate different objects with data from databases. This article discusses adding data from a database into a table. It is possible to populate a Table object with data from any data source using Aspose.PDF for .NET. And it’s not only possible but it’s very easy.

Aspose.PDF for .NET allows developers to import data from:

  • Object Array
  • DataTable
  • DataView

This topic provides information about fetching data from a DataTable or DataView.

All developers working under .NET platform must be familiar with the basic ADO.NET concepts introduced by .NET Framework. It is possible to connect to almost all kinds of data sources using ADO.NET. We can retrieve data from databases and save it to a DataSet, DataTable or DataView. Aspose.PDF for .NET provides support for importing data from these too. This gives more freedom to developers to populate tables in PDF documents from any data source.

The ImportDataTable(..) and ImportDataView(..) methods of the Table class are used to import data from databases.

The example below demonstrates the use of the ImportDataTable method. In this example, the DataTable object is created from scratch and records are added programmatically instead of filling the DataTable with data from databases. Developers can populate DataTable from the database too according to their desire.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

DataTable dt = new DataTable("Employee");
dt.Columns.Add("Employee_ID", typeof(Int32));
dt.Columns.Add("Employee_Name", typeof(string));
dt.Columns.Add("Gender", typeof(string));
// Add 2 rows into the DataTable object programmatically
DataRow dr = dt.NewRow();
dr[0] = 1;
dr[1] = "John Smith";
dr[2] = "Male";
dt.Rows.Add(dr);
dr = dt.NewRow();
dr[0] = 2;
dr[1] = "Mary Miller";
dr[2] = "Female";
dt.Rows.Add(dr);
// Create Document instance
Document doc = new Document();
doc.Pages.Add();
// Initializes a new instance of the Table
Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Set column widths of the table
table.ColumnWidths = "40 100 100 100";
// Set the table border color as LightGray
table.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
// Set the border for table cells
table.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
table.ImportDataTable(dt, true, 0, 1, 3, 3);

// Add table object to first page of input document
doc.Pages[1].Paragraphs.Add(table);
dataDir = dataDir + "DataIntegrated_out.pdf";
// Save updated document containing table object
doc.Save(dataDir);

How to determine if table will break in the current page

Tables are by default added from top-left position and if the table reaches the end of the page, it automatically breaks. You can programmatically get the information that either the Table will be accommodated in the current page or it will break at the bottom of the page. For that reason, first, you need to get the document size information, then you need to get the page Top and page Bottom margin information, Table top margin information and table height. If you add page Top Margin + page Bottom Margin + table Top Margin + table Height and deduct it from the document height, you can get the amount of space remaining over the document. Depending upon the particular height of row (which you have specified), you can calculate that if all the rows of a table can be accommodated within the remaining space over a page or not. Please take a look over the following code snippet. In the following code, the average row height is 23.002 Points.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Instantiate an object PDF class
Document pdf = new Document();
// Add the section to PDF document sections collection
Aspose.Pdf.Page page = pdf.Pages.Add();
// Instantiate a table object
Aspose.Pdf.Table table1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
table1.Margin.Top = 300;
// Add the table in paragraphs collection of the desired section
page.Paragraphs.Add(table1);
// Set with column widths of the table
table1.ColumnWidths = "100 100 100";
// Set default cell border using BorderInfo object
table1.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 0.1F);
// Set table border using another customized BorderInfo object
table1.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 1F);
// Create MarginInfo object and set its left, bottom, right and top margins
Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo margin = new Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo();
margin.Top = 5f;
margin.Left = 5f;
margin.Right = 5f;
margin.Bottom = 5f;
// Set the default cell padding to the MarginInfo object
table1.DefaultCellPadding = margin;
// If you increase the counter to 17, table will break
// Because it cannot be accommodated any more over this page
for (int RowCounter = 0; RowCounter <= 16; RowCounter++)
{
    // Create rows in the table and then cells in the rows
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row1 = table1.Rows.Add();
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 1");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 2");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 3");
}
// Get the Page Height information
float PageHeight = (float)pdf.PageInfo.Height;
// Get the total height information of Page Top & Bottom margin,
// Table Top margin and table height.
float TotalObjectsHeight = (float)page.PageInfo.Margin.Top + (float)page.PageInfo.Margin.Bottom + (float)table1.Margin.Top + (float)table1.GetHeight();

// Display Page Height, Table Height, table Top margin and Page Top
// And Bottom margin information
Console.WriteLine("PDF document Height = " + pdf.PageInfo.Height.ToString() + "\nTop Margin Info = " + page.PageInfo.Margin.Top.ToString() + "\nBottom Margin Info = " + page.PageInfo.Margin.Bottom.ToString() + "\n\nTable-Top Margin Info = " + table1.Margin.Top.ToString() + "\nAverage Row Height = " + table1.Rows[0].MinRowHeight.ToString() + " \nTable height " + table1.GetHeight().ToString() + "\n ----------------------------------------" + "\nTotal Page Height =" + PageHeight.ToString() + "\nCummulative height including Table =" + TotalObjectsHeight.ToString());

// Check if we deduct the sume of Page top margin + Page Bottom margin
// + Table Top margin and table height from Page height and its less
// Than 10 (an average row can be greater than 10)
if ((PageHeight - TotalObjectsHeight) <= 10)
    // If the value is less than 10, then display the message.
    // Which shows that another row can not be placed and if we add new
    // Row, table will break. It depends upon the row height value.
    Console.WriteLine("Page Height - Objects Height < 10, so table will break");


dataDir = dataDir + "DetermineTableBreak_out.pdf";
// Save the pdf document
pdf.Save(dataDir);

Add Repeating Column in Table

In the Aspose.Pdf.Table class, you can set a RepeatingRowsCount that will repeat rows if the table is too long vertically and overflows to the next page. However, in some cases, tables are too wide to fit on a single page and needs to be continued to the next page. In order to serve the purpose, we have implemented RepeatingColumnsCount property in Aspose.Pdf.Table class. Setting this property will cause the table to break to next page column-wise and repeat given column count in the start of the next page. Following code snippet shows the usage of RepeatingColumnsCount property:

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

string outFile = dataDir + "AddRepeatingColumn_out.pdf";
// Create a new document
Document doc = new Document();
Aspose.Pdf.Page page = doc.Pages.Add();

// Instantiate an outer table that takes up the entire page
Aspose.Pdf.Table outerTable = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
outerTable.ColumnWidths = "100%";
outerTable.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;

// Instantiate a table object that will be nested inside outerTable that will break inside the same page
Aspose.Pdf.Table mytable = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
mytable.Broken = TableBroken.VerticalInSamePage;
mytable.ColumnAdjustment = ColumnAdjustment.AutoFitToContent;

// Add the outerTable to the page paragraphs
// Add mytable to outerTable
page.Paragraphs.Add(outerTable);
var bodyRow = outerTable.Rows.Add();
var bodyCell = bodyRow.Cells.Add();
bodyCell.Paragraphs.Add(mytable);
mytable.RepeatingColumnsCount = 5;
page.Paragraphs.Add(mytable);

// Add header Row
Aspose.Pdf.Row row = mytable.Rows.Add();
row.Cells.Add("header 1");
row.Cells.Add("header 2");
row.Cells.Add("header 3");
row.Cells.Add("header 4");
row.Cells.Add("header 5");
row.Cells.Add("header 6");
row.Cells.Add("header 7");
row.Cells.Add("header 11");
row.Cells.Add("header 12");
row.Cells.Add("header 13");
row.Cells.Add("header 14");
row.Cells.Add("header 15");
row.Cells.Add("header 16");
row.Cells.Add("header 17");

for (int RowCounter = 0; RowCounter <= 5; RowCounter++)

{
    // Create rows in the table and then cells in the rows
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row1 = mytable.Rows.Add();
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 1");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 2");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 3");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 4");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 5");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 6");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 7");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 11");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 12");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 13");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 14");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 15");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 16");
    row1.Cells.Add("col " + RowCounter.ToString() + ", 17");
}
doc.Save(outFile);

Integrate Table with the Entity Framework source

More relevant for modern .NET is the import of data from ORM frameworks. In this case, it’s a good idea to extend the Table class with extension methods for importing data from a simple list or from the grouped data. Let’s give an example for one of the most popular ORMs - Entity Framework.

public static class PdfHelper
    {
        public static void ImportEntityList<TSource>(this Pdf.Table table, IList<TSource> data)
        {
            var headRow = table.Rows.Add();

            var props = typeof(TSource).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
            foreach (var prop in props)
            {
                headRow.Cells.Add(prop.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DisplayAttribute)) is DisplayAttribute dd ? dd.Name : prop.Name);
            }

            foreach (var item in data)
            {
                // Add row to table
                var row = table.Rows.Add();
                // Add table cells
                foreach (var t in props)
                {
                    var dataItem = t.GetValue(item, null);
                    if (t.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DataTypeAttribute)) is DataTypeAttribute dataType)
                        switch (dataType.DataType)
                        {

                            case DataType.Currency:
                                row.Cells.Add(string.Format("{0:C}", dataItem));
                                break;
                            case DataType.Date:
                                var dateTime = (DateTime)dataItem;
                                if (t.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DisplayFormatAttribute)) is DisplayFormatAttribute df)
                                {
                                    row.Cells.Add(string.IsNullOrEmpty(df.DataFormatString)
                                        ? dateTime.ToShortDateString()
                                        : string.Format(df.DataFormatString, dateTime));
                                }
                                break;
                            default:
                                row.Cells.Add(dataItem.ToString());
                                break;
                        }
                    else
                    {
                        row.Cells.Add(dataItem.ToString());
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        public static void ImportGroupedData<TKey,TValue>(this Pdf.Table table, IEnumerable<Models.GroupViewModel<TKey, TValue>> groupedData)
        {
            var headRow = table.Rows.Add();           
            var props = typeof(TValue).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
            foreach (var prop in props)
            {
               headRow.Cells.Add(prop.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DisplayAttribute)) is DisplayAttribute dd ? dd.Name : prop.Name);               
            }

            foreach (var group in groupedData)
            {
                // Add group row to table
                var row = table.Rows.Add();
                var cell = row.Cells.Add(group.Key.ToString());
                cell.ColSpan = props.Length;
                cell.BackgroundColor = Pdf.Color.DarkGray;
                cell.DefaultCellTextState.ForegroundColor = Pdf.Color.White;

                foreach (var item in group.Values)
                {
                    // Add data row to table
                    var dataRow = table.Rows.Add();
                    // Add cells
                    foreach (var t in props)
                    {
                        var dataItem = t.GetValue(item, null);

                        if (t.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DataTypeAttribute)) is DataTypeAttribute dataType)
                            switch (dataType.DataType)
                            {
                                case DataType.Currency:
                                    dataRow.Cells.Add(string.Format("{0:C}", dataItem));
                                    break;
                                case DataType.Date:
                                    var dateTime = (DateTime)dataItem;
                                    if (t.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(DisplayFormatAttribute)) is DisplayFormatAttribute df)
                                    {
                                        dataRow.Cells.Add(string.IsNullOrEmpty(df.DataFormatString)
                                            ? dateTime.ToShortDateString()
                                            : string.Format(df.DataFormatString, dateTime));
                                    }
                                    break;
                                default:
                                    dataRow.Cells.Add(dataItem.ToString());
                                    break;
                            }
                        else
                        {
                            dataRow.Cells.Add(dataItem.ToString());
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

The Data Annotations attributes are often used to describe models and help us to create the table. Therefore, the following table generation algorithm was chosen for ImportEntityList:

  • lines 12-18: build a header row and add header cells according to the rule “If the DisplayAttribute is present, then take its value otherwise take the property name”
  • lines 50-53: build the data rows and add row cells according to the rule “If the attribute DataTypeAttribute is defined, then we check whether we need to make additional design settings for it, and otherwise just convert data to string and add to the cell;”

In this example, additional customizations were made for DataType.Currency (lines 32-34) and DataType.Date (lines 35-43), but you can add others if necessary. The algorithm of the ImportGroupedData method is almost the same as the previous one. An additional GroupViewModel class is used, to store the grouped data.

.using System.Collections.Generic;
    public class GroupViewModel<K,T>
    {
        public K Key;
        public IEnumerable<T> Values;
    }

Since we process groups, first we generate a line for the key value (lines 66-71), and after it - the lines of this group.